MRI: Acquisition of Electron Beam Lithography System for Next-Generation Nanomanufacturing and Education

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This major research instrumentation project is to acquire an electron beam lithography system to support research and education activities at The Ohio State University (OSU) and surrounding regions. The ability to create patterns precisely and accurately at the nanometer scale is a key enabler for advances in science, engineering, and medicine. Electron beam lithography systems use precisely focused beams of electrons to realize patterns only a few nanometers in size. Such features can be used to study new scientific phenomena, create novel structures, and to engineer technology solutions. Researchers at OSU and in the region will research a broad range of topics with the system. Topics include quantum phenomena in materials, quantum communications, high-performance electronics, and medical applications. The system will be placed in a centralized nanofabrication facility that will ensure long-term sustainability of the equipment, and open access to a broad range of users within and outside the university. The tool will allow a large number of users to apply state-of-art patterning technology for education, science, engineering, and product development. The system will be used to train undergraduate and graduate students at Ohio State and other educational institutions. An outreach program will engage students and teachers from schools in the Columbus metropolitan region with researchers. High school students will learn how fundamental science concepts in waves, optics and electronics connect to real-life applications through hands-on projects and tours of clean room facilities at Ohio State University.Acquisition of a modern state-of-art electron beam lithography system would spur research in a range of areas, including 2-dimensional material electronics and mechanics, infrared sensors, integrated photonics, high-frequency electronics, quantum communication, metallurgy, earth sciences, and medical research. The impacted research projects would lead to advances in our understanding of fundamental physical properties of materials and systems at the nanometer scale, and of novel electronic, magnetic, and optical phenomena in these materials. A range of technologies and applications with significant economic and societal impact will benefit from the availability of the proposed electron beam lithography system, which will enable disruptive innovation in several directions including next-generation high data rate communication systems, imaging for medical, security, and space remote-sensing application, quantum information systems, cell engineering for medical applications, and new semiconductor materials for energy-efficient power electronics and computing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.